Shadow Chancellor George Osborne yesterday accused Gordon Brown of deepening the economic downturn by trying to "spend his way out of recession".
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne yesterday accused Gordon Brown of deepening the economic downturn by trying to "spend his way out of recession".
Mr Osborne claimed government plans to stimulate demand would result in a burden of debt which could take British taxpayers a decade or more to pay off.
The policy of borrowing more to pay for a state "spending splurge" was "a cruise missile aimed at the heart of the economy", which could force income tax up by 4p in the pound in the long run, he warned.
In a speech drawing dividing lines between Conserv-ative and Labour approaches to the economic crisis, Mr Osborne branded the Prime Minister "irresponsible" for suggesting the government can "borrow without limit" to stave off recession.
Voters now have a clear choice between future Labour tax hikes to repay huge national debt or a Tory "responsible road to recovery" which will bring down levies, he said.
However, the spending splurge allegation was rejected as "absolutely wrong" by Mr Brown, campaigning for next week's by-election in Glenrothes.
"What we are doing is making sure we take people fairly through a very difficult time, when national debt is low and we are able to borrow to do it," said the Prime Minister.
In his first speech since he acknowledged making mistakes over his contact with Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, Mr Osborne sought to put the "Yachtgate" row behind him.
He accused Mr Brown of abandoning fiscal responsibility in favour of the "failed and discredited" Keynesian demand management techniques which led to soaring inflation in the 1970s. Mr Osborne said this approach was the "weak, irresponsible choice" and would make it more difficult for the Bank of England to achieve a "sustained reduction in interest rates".
He added: "It saddles this generation and the next with a burden of debt that could take a decade or more to pay off.
"It means you end up spending more on paying debt interest than defending your country or educating your children.
"It means damaging tax rises at the very moment when you want to be reducing taxes to help the recovery."
Mr Osborne's attack came as the Prime Minister prepared to travel today to the oil-rich Middle East to try to bolster the international funding pot available to countries struggling amid the global credit crisis.
Mr Brown, who will spend four days visiting Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, is pushing for Middle Eastern countries to be among the biggest donors to an expanded International Monetary Fund, but analysts have warned money will only be forthcoming if regional leaders are given more power in any new world economic order.
The trip comes ahead of a meeting of world leaders, including Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, in Washington later this month to discuss ways to shore up the global economy.
